Abstract

We present new models for the forward and reverse shock thermal X-ray emission from core-collapse and Type Ia supernova remnants (SNRs) that include the efficient production of cosmic rays (CR) via nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). Our CR-hydro-NEI code takes into account non-equilibrium ionization, hydrodynamic effects of efficient CR production on the SNR evolution, and collisional temperature equilibration among heavy ions and electrons in both the shocked supernova (SN) ejecta and the shocked circumstellar material. While X-ray emission is emphasized here, our code self-consistently determines both thermal and non-thermal broadband emission from radio to TeV energies. We include Doppler broadening of the spectral lines by thermal motions of the ions and by the remnant expansion. We study, in general terms, the roles that the ambient environment, progenitor models, temperature equilibration, and processes related to DSA have on the thermal and non-thermal spectra. The study of X-ray line emission from young SNRs is a powerful tool for determining specific SN elemental contributions and for providing critical information that helps to understand the type and energetics of the explosion, the composition of the ambient medium in which the SN exploded, and the ionization and dynamics of the hot plasma in the shockedmore » SN ejecta and interstellar medium. With the approaching launch of the next-generation X-ray satellite Astro-H, observations of spectral lines with unprecedented high resolution will become a reality. Our self-consistent calculations of the X-ray spectra from various progenitors will help interpret future observations of SNRs.« less

@article{osti_22365327,
title = {Reverse and forward shock X-ray emission in an evolutionary model of supernova remnants undergoing efficient diffusive shock acceleration},
author = {Lee, Shiu-Hang and Patnaude, Daniel J. and Slane, Patrick O. and Ellison, Donald C. and Nagataki, Shigehiro, E-mail: slee@astro.isas.jaxa.jp, E-mail: shiu-hang.lee@riken.jp, E-mail: shigehiro.nagataki@riken.jp, E-mail: slane@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: dpatnaude@cfa.harvard.edu, E-mail: don_ellison@ncsu.edu},
abstractNote = {We present new models for the forward and reverse shock thermal X-ray emission from core-collapse and Type Ia supernova remnants (SNRs) that include the efficient production of cosmic rays (CR) via nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). Our CR-hydro-NEI code takes into account non-equilibrium ionization, hydrodynamic effects of efficient CR production on the SNR evolution, and collisional temperature equilibration among heavy ions and electrons in both the shocked supernova (SN) ejecta and the shocked circumstellar material. While X-ray emission is emphasized here, our code self-consistently determines both thermal and non-thermal broadband emission from radio to TeV energies. We include Doppler broadening of the spectral lines by thermal motions of the ions and by the remnant expansion. We study, in general terms, the roles that the ambient environment, progenitor models, temperature equilibration, and processes related to DSA have on the thermal and non-thermal spectra. The study of X-ray line emission from young SNRs is a powerful tool for determining specific SN elemental contributions and for providing critical information that helps to understand the type and energetics of the explosion, the composition of the ambient medium in which the SN exploded, and the ionization and dynamics of the hot plasma in the shocked SN ejecta and interstellar medium. With the approaching launch of the next-generation X-ray satellite Astro-H, observations of spectral lines with unprecedented high resolution will become a reality. Our self-consistent calculations of the X-ray spectra from various progenitors will help interpret future observations of SNRs.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/791/2/97},
journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
number = 2,
volume = 791,
place = {United States},
year = 2014,
month = 8
}

We present a 3-dimensional model of supernova remnants (SNRs) where the hydrodynamical evolution of the remnant is modeled consistently with nonlinear diffusive shock acceleration occurring at the outer blast wave. The model includes particle escape and diffusion outside of the forward shock, and particle interactions with arbitrary distributions of external ambient material, such as molecular clouds. We include synchrotron emission and cooling, bremsstrahlung radiation, neutral pion production, inverse-Compton (IC), and Coulomb energy-loss. Boardband spectra have been calculated for typical parameters including dense regions of gas external to a 1000 year old SNR. In this paper, we describe the details ofmore » our model but do not attempt a detailed fit to any specific remnant. We also do not include magnetic field amplification (MFA), even though this effect may be important in some young remnants. In this first presentation of the model we don't attempt a detailed fit to any specific remnant. Our aim is to develop a flexible platform, which can be generalized to include effects such as MFA, and which can be easily adapted to various SNR environments, including Type Ia SNRs, which explode in a constant density medium, and Type II SNRs, which explode in a pre-supernova wind. When applied to a specific SNR, our model will predict cosmic-ray spectra and multi-wavelength morphology in projected images for instruments with varying spatial and spectral resolutions. We show examples of these spectra and images and emphasize the importance of measurements in the hard X-ray, GeV, and TeV gamma-ray bands for investigating key ingredients in the acceleration mechanism, and for deducing whether or not TeV emission is produced by IC from electrons or pion-decay from protons.« less

We present results of semianalytic calculations which show clear evidence for changes in the nonequilibrium ionization behind a supernova remnant forward shock undergoing efficient diffusive shock acceleration (DSA). The efficient acceleration of particles (i.e., cosmic rays (CRs)) lowers the shock temperature and raises the density of the shocked gas, thus altering the ionization state of the plasma in comparison to the test-particle (TP) approximation where CRs gain an insignificant fraction of the shock energy. The differences between the TP and efficient acceleration cases are substantial and occur for both slow and fast temperature equilibration rates: in cases of higher accelerationmore » efficiency, particular ion states are more populated at lower electron temperatures. We also present results which show that, in the efficient shock acceleration case, higher ionization fractions are reached noticeably closer to the shock front than in the TP case, clearly indicating that DSA may enhance thermal X-ray production. We attribute this to the higher postshock densities which lead to faster electron temperature equilibration and higher ionization rates. These spatial differences should be resolvable with current and future X-ray missions, and can be used as diagnostics in estimating the acceleration efficiency in CR-modified shocks.« less

I discuss the non-thermal X-ray emission from young supernova remnants. Over the last decade it has become clear from both X-ray and {gamma}-ray observations that young supernovae accelerate particles up to 100 TeV. In soft X-rays the accelerated >10 TeV electrons produce synchrotron radiation, coming from narrow filaments located at the shock fronts. The width of these filaments shows that the magnetic fields are relatively high, thus providing evidence for magnetic field amplification.The synchrotron radiation of several remnants is known to extend into the hard X-ray regime. In particular Cas A, has a spectrum that appears as a power lawmore » up to almost 100 TeV. This is very surprising, as a steepening is expected going from the soft to the hard X-ray band. The spectrum is likely a result of many superimposed individual spectra, each steepening at different energies. This implies considerable spatial variation in hard X-rays, an obvious target for Simbol-X. The variations will be important to infer local shock acceleration properties, but also magnetic field fluctuations may cause spatial and temporal variations.Finally, I draw the attention to super bubbles and supernovae as sources of cosmic rays. As such they may be sources of hard X-ray emission. In particular, supernovae exploding inside the dense red supergiants winds of their progenitors ares promising candidates for hard X-ray emission.« less

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are believed to be the major contributors to Galactic cosmic rays. The detection of non-thermal emission from SNRs demonstrates the presence of energetic particles, but direct signatures of protons and other ions remain elusive. If these particles receive a sizeable fraction of the explosion energy, the morphological and spectral evolution of the SNR must be modified. To assess this, we run three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations of a remnant coupled with a nonlinear acceleration model. We obtain the time-dependent evolution of the shocked structure, impacted by the Rayleigh-Taylor hydrodynamic instabilities at the contact discontinuity and by the back-reaction ofmore » particles at the forward shock. We then compute the progressive temperature equilibration and non-equilibrium ionization state of the plasma, and its thermal emission in each cell. This allows us to produce the first realistic synthetic maps of the projected X-ray emission from the SNR. Plasma conditions (temperature and ionization age) can vary widely over the projected surface of the SNR, especially between the ejecta and the ambient medium owing to their different composition. This demonstrates the need for spatially resolved spectroscopy. We find that the integrated emission is reduced with particle back-reaction, with the effect being more significant for the highest photon energies. Therefore, different energy bands, corresponding to different emitting elements, probe different levels of the impact of particle acceleration. Our work provides a framework for the interpretation of SNR observations with current X-ray missions (Chandra, XMM-Newton, and Suzaku) and with upcoming X-ray missions (such as Astro-H).« less

Supernova remnants are believed to be major contributors to Galactic cosmic rays. In this paper, we explore how the non-thermal emission from young remnants can be used to probe the production of energetic particles at the shock (both protons and electrons). Our model couples hydrodynamic simulations of a supernova remnant with a kinetic treatment of particle acceleration. We include two important back-reaction loops upstream of the shock: energetic particles can (1) modify the flow structure and (2) amplify the magnetic field. As the latter process is not fully understood, we use different limit cases that encompass a wide range ofmore » possibilities. We follow the history of the shock dynamics and of the particle transport downstream of the shock, which allows us to compute the non-thermal emission from the remnant at any given age. We do this in three dimensions, in order to generate projected maps that can be compared with observations. We observe that completely different recipes for the magnetic field can lead to similar modifications of the shock structure, although to very different configurations of the field and particles. We show how this affects the emission patterns in different energy bands, from radio to X-rays and γ-rays. High magnetic fields (>100 μG) directly impact the synchrotron emission from electrons, by restricting their emission to thin rims, and indirectly impact the inverse Compton emission from electrons and also the pion decay emission from protons, mostly by shifting their cut-off energies to respectively lower and higher energies.« less